Secret $2 million pot farm found on Texas rancher's property

By Craig Hlavaty |
July 2, 2014
| Updated: July 3, 2014 9:59am

On July 1, 2014, Chambers County deputies discovered a large pot-growing operation on a plot of land that was being leased from the Army Corps of Engineers, according to a sheriff's office press release. (Chambers County Sheriff's Office)

On July 1, 2014, Chambers County deputies discovered a large pot-growing operation on a plot of land that was being leased from the Army Corps of Engineers, according to a sheriff's office press release. (Chambers County Sheriff's Office)

On July 1, 2014, Chambers County deputies discovered a large pot-growing operation on a plot of land that was being leased from the Army Corps of Engineers, according to a sheriff's office press release. (Chambers County Sheriff's Office)

Photo By Houston Chronicle

These are the biggest Houston-area drug busts of 2014.

Photo By Fort Bend County

May 7, 2014: Officials found 24.56 pounds (11.16 kilos) of cocaine concealed in a homemade compartment inside a vehicle frame. The cocaine has a value of about $334,800, and Jeanie Burciaga, 38, and Adrian Martinez, 38, of Brownsville, were arrested and booked into the Fort Bend County Jail on charges of manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance and second degree charges of unlawful use of a criminal instrument.

Photo By Scott Engle / Montgomery County Police Reporter

May 7, 2014: Humble ISD Elementary school teacher Monica Quintero, 31, and three others were been arrested on drug charges after Montgomery County deputy constables raided their Porter apartment where they found drugs, guns and cash inside.

Photo By U.S. Customs and Border Protection

April 16, 2014: A Pearland woman was caught at the U.S. and Mexico border with just over $1 million in concealed narcotics, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. Officers found 19 pounds of methamphetamine, 12 pounds of heroin and another 10 pounds in cocaine inside the car being driven by the woman.

Photo By Harris County Sheriff's Office

March 31, 2014: Marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $1.4 million were found at an undisclosed Harris County location. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said it was a tip from the agency's smartphone app that led them to the bust.

Photo By Louisiana State Police

March 28, 2014: Martin Martinez, 34, from La Marque, was
driving a Mercedes on I-10 in Baton Rouge, March 23, when he was pulled
over by troopers for improper lane usage. LSP said a search revealed
244 pounds of marijuana.

Photo By Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

March 5, 2014: Homeland Security Investigations agents executing a
search warrant for "drug-related activity" found a covert facility and
thousands of pills, said Greg Palmore, a spokesman for the federal
agency. The operation was not a laboratory, like one used to cook
methamphetamine, but used already prepared chemicals to make the pills.

Photo By HCSO

Feb. 18, 2014: Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies seized
guns and 18 pounds of marijuana at a home in northwest Harris County.
The drugs were valued at about $90,000, and $13,000 in cash was also
discovered.

Photo By MCSO

Feb. 13, 2014: Law enforcement authorities seized about 3,000
grams of methamphetamine during a traffic stop on the frontage road of
U.S. 59 in Splendora. The drugs were estimated to be worth $300,00, and
two men were arrested.

On Tuesday Chambers County deputies discovered a large pot-growing operation on a plot of land that was being leased from the Army Corps of Engineers, according to a sheriff's office press release.

Just after 1 p.m. Tuesday Sheriff Brian C. Hawthorne received a call from a rancher informing him that he had noticed suspicious activity on his property, which he was leasing from the federal government.

The wooded property, located in western Chambers County off Gou Hole Rd., is less than a mile from the FM 565.

The rancher searched the clearing and noticed two men running away from a small campsite on the property. That's when he called the Chambers County Sheriff's Office.

Upon further investigation deputies say they discovered approximately 5,500 marijuana plants with the help of the DPS' Special Crime Unit and their Air Wing Unit, as the area was not accessible by vehicle. Deputies called for additional support once the magnitude of the growing operation was realized. The plants were in various stages of growth and it appeared that the operation had been in process for some time.

According to deputies the street value of the plants is approximately $2 million.

Deputy Dan Houghton, sheriff's office spokesperson, said Wednesday that investigators do not yet know just how long the operation had been going on, but agree that pot had been growing out there for some time.

When the two men fled the camp site, Houghton said, they left behind food, toiletries, and clothes. Investigating the scene had to be done gingerly, he said.

"We had to be careful where and how we stepped because in lots of instances these operations have booby traps set up to protect the area," Houghton said. There were no weapons found on the camp site, nor anything that could be used to ID the suspects, he said.

The Chambers County Criminal Investigations Division continues to investigate the scene.